By: Jon Grishpul

Recovery is not only about construction. It is about protecting families from high-pressure contracts, vague bids, and budget blowups.

In the aftermath of wildfires, California homeowners often describe the same feeling: urgency. The urgency to get back on property. The urgency to repair smoke damage before it worsens. The urgency to stop paying for temporary housing. The urgency to restore normal life.

That urgency is understandable, and it is also the single biggest vulnerability homeowners face during recovery. When families are under emotional and financial strain, they are more likely to sign paperwork quickly, pay deposits they should question, and accept contractor proposals that are not specific enough to protect them.

Wildfires have made this risk impossible to ignore, but the pattern extends beyond disaster zones. Across California, homeowners remodeling kitchens, replacing roofs, repairing storm damage, or renovating aging homes are encountering the same problems: contractor bids that omit critical scope items, proposals that are hard to compare, budgets that blow past the original number, and, in the worst cases, outright scams.

Nationally, nearly 78 percent of renovation projects exceed budget, and more than half of homeowners report major cost overruns tied to unclear or incomplete contractor proposals. In California, elevated construction demand and constrained labor supply make that reality more severe. A low bid that excludes demolition, site prep, permitting, or utility work may look attractive until construction begins, but then the homeowner discovers they are tens of thousands of dollars short.

The wildfire recovery context adds a second layer: predatory operators who appear when people are desperate.

The Scam Pattern Homeowners Should Expect

After a disaster, opportunistic contractors often approach impacted homeowners directly. They may knock on the door, leave flyers, or send sales representatives who present themselves as affiliated with insurance or relief efforts. Their pitch is almost always framed around speed. They can start tomorrow. They can get you priority. They can lock in pricing if you sign today.

Then comes the pressure to pay. A deposit to secure your spot. A payment to order materials. A request for cash because the bank transfer will take too long. Sometimes there is even an offer to kick back a portion of insurance proceeds if you hire them, which is not a perk. It is insurance fraud.

Homeowners should treat these tactics as red flags, not conveniences. The goal is to push a distressed family into an emotional decision, then disappear after collecting money. In wildfire recovery, that loss is not only financial. It is time. Families lose months trying to unwind a contract, restart the process, or repair work that was done poorly.

The best defense is a rule that sounds simple but is hard in practice: do not sign anything immediately, and do not pay anything immediately. Slow down long enough to verify.

California has plenty of qualified professionals. In Los Angeles County alone, there are more than 20,000 licensed contractors. You do not need the person who showed up uninvited and demanded a decision today.

A Practical Vetting Process That Works Under Pressure

Choosing a reputable contractor is not about luck. It is about process. Even if a homeowner is anxious to get started, taking time to vet contractors prevents far larger delays later.

At minimum, homeowners should confirm the contractor has a valid general contractor license and check for consumer complaints. They should verify at least $1 million in liability insurance and an active workers’ compensation policy. They should research online reviews, then go deeper by contacting references or past clients to learn how communication, change orders, and scheduling were handled.

Red flags include door-to-door solicitation, high-pressure sales tactics, requests for large upfront deposits to hold a job, and any suggestion of manipulating insurance proceeds. Another red flag is a bid that is excessively vague. If a contractor will not put a detailed scope in writing, the homeowner is exposed to change orders that can reshape the budget.

A 20 Point Code of Conduct Homeowners Can Use

One of the most useful tools homeowners can adopt is a checklist that sets expectations before work begins. A 20-point contractor code of conduct can turn a stressful selection process into a structured evaluation. It covers communication, scope detail, change order discipline, quality accountability, scheduling transparency, job site cleanliness, code compliance, insurance validity, permitting, payment structure, warranty terms, labor consistency, and subcontractor qualification.

It asks practical questions. Will the contractor respond within 24 hours? Will there be a primary contact person? Will the contractor provide a detailed written scope, contract, and schedule? Will they advise in writing about extra charges and wait for written approval before starting? Will they secure permits and pass inspections? Will they tie payments to completion milestones instead of demanding large deposits? Will they provide at least a one-year warranty? Will they maintain a consistent crew presence during the work week? Do their workers have experience in the specific trades required? Do they hire qualified subcontractors with applicable licenses and insurance?

This kind of checklist does two things. It filters out bad actors, and it sets the tone for professionals who do good work. Reputable contractors generally welcome clear expectations because it reduces misunderstandings and disputes later.

Why Bids Blow Up and How to Stop It Before It Starts

For most families, the financial pain of a renovation or rebuild does not come from a contractor simply doing a poor job. It comes from a bid that never defined the full scope of work. That is the core reason budget overruns are so common.

Many bids omit line items that are almost always part of the project. Demolition and debris removal. Cleanup and disposal. Site prep. Utility work. Permit processing. Fixtures and finishes. Structural reinforcement. When those items are not clearly included, they return later as change orders.

Homeowners are often told that change orders are normal. Some change orders are legitimate, especially when hidden damage is discovered. But many are predictable. They are not surprises. They are omissions.

The wildfire recovery environment makes this particularly dangerous because homeowners are already dealing with insurance gaps. If a bid later expands by twenty percent, a family may not have the liquidity to cover the difference. Projects then stall. Contractors move to other jobs. Materials are delayed. The homeowner pays more for the same work and loses momentum toward returning home.

A budget does not protect a homeowner if the scope is incomplete.

The Tool Problem and the New Solution

Most homeowners are not construction experts. Yet the industry has long forced them to choose contractors by interpreting bids that vary wildly in format. One contractor may quote per square foot. Another may provide a lump sum. One may specify fixtures. Another may list allowances. Comparing proposals becomes guesswork.

This is where new consumer tools are changing the game. BidCompareAI, a free tool launched by GreatBuildz, allows homeowners to upload multiple contractor bids and instantly compare them line by line. It flags missing scope, vague allowances, inconsistent pricing, and cost gaps. It translates an opaque process into an apples-to-apples analysis that consumers can understand before signing a contract.

The result is not only potential savings. It is leverage. When homeowners can see where bids differ, they can ask smarter questions. They can demand specificity. They can negotiate based on data instead of intuition. And they can avoid the most expensive mistake of all: signing a contract based on an incomplete document.

A Budget Checklist That Prevents Blind Spots

Homeowners can strengthen this process even further by starting with a renovation budget checklist. A checklist breaks a project into categories in a sensible order: demolition, utilities, structural work, systems, room-by-room details, exterior work, interior work, site tasks, and fixtures and finishes. It helps homeowners identify the full scope of what will be permitted, designed, built, purchased, installed, and finished.

With that clarity, contractor conversations are more organized, bids are more likely to include comparable items, and the homeowner can track progress and spending more effectively.

The checklist is not about micromanaging contractors. It is about ensuring the homeowner is not surprised by an expense that should have been anticipated.

A Closing Note for California’s Recovery

As California continues to recover from wildfires, homeowners deserve more than sympathy. They deserve systems that protect them from financial harm at their most vulnerable moment.

That protection starts with slowing down long enough to vet contractors, refusing high-pressure tactics, and insisting on a clear written scope. It continues with using structured tools like a code of conduct checklist and a renovation budget worksheet. And it is strengthened by technology that reveals what is missing, inconsistent, or unclear before a contract turns into a costly mistake.

In a rebuilding season, the most important structure is not only the house. It is the decision framework that keeps a family safe while the house is being rebuilt.

With extensive experience in the construction and renovation business, Jon Grishpul is Co-CEO of GreatBuildz.com—a free service that matches homeowners with reliable, pre-screened general contractors. The company, which exclusively connects homeowners with reputable contractors who have successfully passed its rigorous screening process, also offers free access to its BidCompareAI—a home renovation contractor bid comparison tool leveraging artificial intelligence to instantly reveal hidden costs, inconsistencies across bids, lack of transparency, and more for true “apples-to-apples” comparisons. GreatBuildz also provides an array of other resources for those wanting to repair or rebuild their home, including Remodeling Advisors for those needing guidance and support for any repair or issue. Jon is also Co-CEO of MaxableSpace.com, an industry-leading accessory dwelling unit (ADU ) design / build/manage platform.